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Tuesday, September 30, 1997

U.S. Attorney to leave office for job at Compaq

By TERRI LANGFORD Associated Press Writer

HOUSTON (AP) - U.S. Attorney Gaynelle Griffin Jones, who oversaw the prosecution of Mexican drug lord Juan Garcia Abrego, announced Monday she will step down next month to work for Compaq Computer Corp.

Ms. Griffin Jones, whose four-year term ended a week ago, said she had been "held over" for another full term overseeing the Southern District of Texas, but decided to work instead in the corporate sector.

"Well, I've had four years, it's been great, it's what I signed on for," she said. "As I look down the road, I'm a lame duck at this point."

The Southern District of Texas which stretches from Houston to Brownsville and west to Laredo is one of the nation's busiest, with cases involving Mexican drug trafficking and money laundering taking the spotlight in recent years.

Under Ms. Griffin Jones' watch, Garcia Abrego, once Mexico's biggest drug cartel leader, was convicted of ferrying 15 tons of cocaine and laundering $10.5 million. He was sentenced to life in a U.S. prison and ordered to pay nearly $500 million in fines and asset forfeiture.

Last March, her office also successfully seized $7.9 million in "dirty money" ferried at the direction of former Mexican deputy attorney general Mario Ruiz Massieu into a personal bank account in Texas.

These were two of what Ms. Griffin Jones gently referred to as one of her "many" memorable moments in office.

"I think I had many. From the significant prosecutions we had in the drug area, convicting Juan Garcia Abrego, to the work we did in the community," she said.

Ironically, she counted her office's failure in May to prosecute Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski on fraud and criminal contempt charges stemming from his controversial cancer treatment, a victory of sorts.

"It was a success," she insisted, because Burzynski, dogged by federal authorities for more than a dozen years, was finally brought to trial, even though he was acquitted.

Throughout her tenure, Ms. Griffin Jones kept a tight rein on her assistant attorneys and the flow of public information from her office and was known in Houston to have elevated silence to a higher art form.

The simplest of requests for information, dates of events, spellings of witness and defendant during trial, were routinely denied by federal prosecutors, who said they were told by Ms. Griffin Jones not to talk to the press.

Surprisingly, the 48-year-old said her office was more open that her predecessors.

"I think that this office was more often to the public and to the press than any other," she said. "I think we've done an outstanding job in relation to our media, press, keeping the public informed."

In keeping with what became characteristic disdain for disclosure, Ms. Griffin Jones refused - in a news conference announcing her leaving - to tell reporters what her staff had already confirmed - that she was taking a job with Compaq Computer.

"I'm looking forward to going into the corporate practice of law, hopefully in the Houston area," she said, when pressed. Compaq spokeswoman Nora Hahn confirmed that the Boston College Law School graduate would be working in the firm's internal legal office.

"We are very pleased to have Gaynelle Griffin Jones join our organization as a corporate attorney focusing on litigation and compliance issues," said J. David Cabello, Compaq senior vice president, general counsel and secretary.

The resignation will become effective Oct. 10. First assistant U.S. Attorney Bernie Hobson is expected to act as interim chief until a new appointment can be made.Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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